A westerner by residence and
subject matter, he sculpts the wildlife he spends his days
observing in the remote mountains of Salmon River country.
Born in San Francisco in 1946, he grew up in Colorado and
as a young man moved about, including a period of living in
the rain forests of South America.
In 1989, Deurloo and his wife settled in Idaho in an area
described by a writer for Wildlife Art (5/96) as
“postcard-perfect.” Deurloo says he “can
step out my back door and my subjects are all around me.
Within ten miles of where I live are all the animals I
sculpt, with the exception of the grizzly. I have to go to
Montana for that.” Nearby is the town of Salmon, one
of the most remote locations in the United States. It is
ten miles from the Continental Divide and surrounded by
National Forest and other wilderness areas.
Basically self-taught, he began sculpting in the 1970s when
he saw in a museum some pieces he wanted but couldn’t
afford. So he decided to make his own. Since then he has
won a number of awards including: “Best
Sculpture” of the Collectors Society Show in
Minneapolis; “Best Interpretive Bronze,” Ducks
Unlimited National Wildlife Show in Kansas City; and
“Best Wildlife Sculpture” in the Saratoga Art
Show.
Major distinguishing aspects of his sculpture are the
patinas which cause his bronzes to have a polish finish
resembling stone of the area where the depicted animal is
native. A howling wolf may look like it was carved from the
granite of the Sawtooth Mountains.
His work is a combination of abstraction and realism, and
he prefers to suggest rather than leave nothing to viewer
imagination. His reduction of some of the detail enhances
the appearance of the stone, but for certain parts of the
animal such as the antlers on a deer he is meticulous about
detail.